Specimens of the Asian tiger mosquito have once again been found in a Berlin allotment garden. The Senate Department for Health announced on Thursday that a successful hibernation was proven and permanent settlement was to be feared.
The mosquito species drawn in black and white was found last year in the facility in the Treptow-Köpenick district. This makes Berlin the northernmost point in Germany where a proliferation of Asian tiger mosquitoes has been proven.
The Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) is originally native to South and Southeast Asia, but is also increasingly found in Central Europe. According to the Senate administration, there are already some populations in southern Germany, and isolated specimens have been found in Berlin since 2017.
The occurrence of the exotic mosquito species is monitored because the animals can transmit pathogens such as dengue or chikungunya viruses. “The diseases caused by these viruses have not yet spread in Germany, but the corresponding pathogens are repeatedly brought in by people returning from travel,” says the statement from the Senate Department.
Whether and where the exotic species can be found in Berlin is being investigated as part of the “Mosquito Atlas” project. In June of this year, in cooperation with the Treptow-Köpenick Health Department and the State Office for Health and Social Affairs (LAGeSo), eggs, larvae and adult specimens of the mosquito were searched for in 35 plots of the affected allotment garden. The tenants of the facility were informed about preventive and control measures in the spring.
